Blessed
by ValkyrieAce
Summary: Astoria is keeping secrets and Draco finds himself feeling hurt by her distrust. Can Astoria mend his heart by revealing these secrets? Maybe, maybe not. Please read and review!


_Author's Note: I would like to dedicate this story to my very beloved captain, Kat-nee! She is, and always will be, the person who's most encouraged me to write my best. Without her, I'd have no one to talk to about food, anime, music... There's a lot of things that you've helped me overcome, and I hope you know how much I appreciate the work you've put into being our Captain Kit-Kat. You inspire me every day. I would also like to thank my beta, Cel, for helping me out with the flow and pacing of the plot. Please read and review if you have anything to say!_

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 **Title/Link:** Blessed

 **Team:** Kenmare Kestrels

 **Position:** Beater 2

 **Extension Used:** None

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 **Season 6, Round 3:** Love Is All Around — Wet Wet Wet

 **Optional Prompts:** (dialogue) "Pay attention to me," (object) jumper/sweater, (word) cryptic

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 **Blessed** by ValkyrieAce

Draco sighed as he walked into the living room of their cozy apartment, relieved to be out of the snowy winter day. The sun was setting over the hills, enveloping the room in a radiance as pure as the first snow fall of the season.

"Tori-" he started, stopping when he caught a glimpse of her feet hanging over the arm of the couch. Surreptitiously, he leaned over the couch, basking in both the warmth of the lit fireplace and her beauty.

Astoria was snoring softly, her glossy lips parted ever so slightly. Her hands were clasped under her face, her head supported by the opposite arm of the couch. Her body was covered with a soft grey afghan.

Under the lovely rays of the sunset, she looked ethereal.

He circled around the couch and lifted her off the couch carefully, trying to make sure that he didn't wake her. He looked down at her, his heart warming as she leaned into his chest instinctively.

Walking into their bedroom, he laid her down on her side of the bed. Instantly, she curled into herself and let out a sigh. As he began to replace the afghan with their blankets, he noticed that she was wearing a mint green jumper.

In a wave of nostalgia, he remembered that it was the same mint green jumper that he'd spent hours labouring over. It had been a handmade Valentine's Day gift. A grueling task on its own, but he'd wanted to gift her with something that he'd put effort into.

He'd been given many Valentine's presents before, but Astoria was different. She was... unique in her own way. She was a strong woman, fearless in her ability to be blunt. She had stolen his heart from the moment she defended him from her Hufflepuff friends, the courageousness inspiring him to be better. A pureblood with elegance, sass, and kindness. She was an enigma.

His silvery eyes crinkled at the memory. He smiled softly and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear delicately.

 _'Astoria was never one to hide her feelings. She would always let it show.'_

* * *

Astoria had been busy recently, he'd noticed.

In the past few weeks, Astoria had been acting strange. She was hiding some of her plans in a flurry, she was outside the apartment a lot more than she used to be, and she brought home things that he didn't understand.

Most of the time, it could be chalked up to her obsessive tendencies when it came to her work. But he wasn't stupid. He knew there was something she was hiding. She was just being cryptic about her plans.

She still loved him, he knew. But this love was coloured with doubt and confusion.

He'd felt its full force when the way she looked at him changed.

She used to look at him with an expression of love, her eyes shining with happiness, and her love for him obvious to everyone around her. No one would be able to hold their own when it came to her ability to love someone to the fullest.

Now... She looked at him with an unsure expression, her eyes conflicted and distant. She spent a lot of time planning for something in their bedroom. Even some of the drawers were locked up.

He wondered if he'd done something wrong. She never had any reason to hide from him.

He knew he'd do anything to make it right by her.

* * *

He'd had enough of the insecurity and the cryptic behaviour.

They would still spend time together when they were both free to do as they pleased. But it was different now. Her eyes still had the same unsure feeling to them, yet her voice spoke sweet nothings in his ears. It was different now, but he couldn't provoke her into telling him the truth.

She was strong, but she was also blunt. She'd let him know when she was ready. He trusted her with that.

Though, the longer she kept her secrets, the harder it got for him to believe that she needed him as much as he needed her.

"Pay attention to me," Draco had said, then. Yes, he realised that he sounded like his eleven year old self. And yes, he didn't really care that he did.

It was just too much to be away from her, even to work. Her love was what he depended on and he prayed that she felt the same way, even now. And while he was aware that there were things that she hid from him, he didn't want to face a reality in which she would break up with him any time soon.

Immediately, she stood up and hugged him, giving him comfort and love in that gesture alone. They'd spent the rest of the day laughing and talking about their jobs.

He felt loved, but he didn't know if she was confident in their love anymore.

As he laughed, he realised that her doubt frustrated and hurt him more than he thought it would. And yet, he resolved to make more of an effort to fix whatever he'd done wrong.

His love for her was strong and his mind was made up.

* * *

He'd finally figured out why she'd been so hesitant.

It happened the night Draco had come back from a successful Auror raid. Potter and Weasley had been his commanding officers, drilling into him the various different methods by which they'd raid the Carrows. And while Draco still disliked them, he couldn't really find any faults in Weasley's strategic ingenuity.

He'd arrived home late at night, his mind frustrated but alert.

He'd never have caught the mysterious note on their refrigerator otherwise.

A small note, simply asking him to turn the lights in their room off when he was ready to sleep. It seemed normal enough, but he wondered why she hadn't turned the lights off when she went to sleep herself.

After a short shower and a clean pair of pajamas, he laid next to Astoria's sleeping form. Using his wand, he turned the lights off and closed his eyes tightly. Even so, he wasn't able to fall asleep.

Out of the blue, he felt movement next to him, and opened his eyes. As soon as he did, he noticed stars glowing on the bedroom ceiling, the stars spelling out the words:

"Will you marry me?"

In his shock, he'd turned to Astoria, almost falling out of the bed as Astoria held up a ring next to him, her expression holding a kind but pensive look. It had taken him a few moments to realise that she had been paying attention to him all along. It simply was a matter of perspective.

 _'Yes!'_ he thought, ecstatic at the idea of taking another step forward into their future.

It had only taken him a second to pull her into his arms and kiss her, pouring every ounce of his love for her into the kiss. He felt her hand cup his face and squeeze his cheeks together, prompting a shocked chipmunk expression out of him. With a giggle, she cheekily replied:

"You know that isn't a proper response, right?"

* * *

"...and that's how Mummy proposed to Daddy," Astoria finished. Their three year old son, Scorpius, had already fallen asleep mid-story.

Draco leaned on the doorway, watching as Astoria tucked him into his colourful blankets with a delicate movement of her wrist. A soft smile graced his face, his love for them shining through his eyes with abandon.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he commented, his lips quirking into a frown as she walked past him to their bedroom.

Her laugh reverberated through the hallway, tinkling like bells. He took long strides towards her and clasped her hand in his, leaning over to press a chaste kiss on her nose. As he pulled away, her eyes crinkled into the loving smile that she reserved just for him.

He was blessed, he'd realised.

It was because of her that he was able to experience such a depth of love.

And unlike his parents, their love and loyalty to each other would always come first.

 **Fin**

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 **Word Count:** 1,370

 **Additional Prompts:**

The Golden Snitch – Through the Universe – (character) 115. Nova — Astoria Greengrass/Malfoy

The Golden Snitch – Ollivander's Wand Shop – Ash: Write about a character being clingy.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry – Assignment #12 – Muggle Studies: Muggle Creatures, Task #1 - Canines: Write about someone loyal.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry – The 365 Prompts Challenge – 109. Dialogue - "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry – The Insane House Challenge – 972. Emotion - Frustrated


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